Genesis 11 Revisited Notes

    Genesis 11 Revisited Notes

This chapter opens up pertaining to the division that occured during the birth of Peleg. Verse 1 is not saying that the whole Noahic race shared the same linguistic language; the entire planet was never monolingual . For simplicity's sake, Genesis 10 uses the Hebrew word "lashon" for a linguistic language while Genesis 11 uses "sapah" to describe the mode of how speech is expressed. For a scholarly review, see Chris Gousmett- The confusion of language in the interpretation of Genesis 11. 


What we see here is the division caused by a shared agreement. This wicked remnant (Sons of Joktan) broke away from the righteous group of Shem and settled in Babel. They started to gather bricks (associated with idolatry) and bitumen (waterproof the building structure) in order to build a ziggurat. They did not believe that God will be faithful to his covenant of not flooding the region again. Notice, the people sound like the Trinity in Genesis 1 making mankind. We see covenant mankind falling back into the same sinful traps of name/legacy building just like the Sethites and Cainites. These people feared that scattering would make them a forgotten people-a lost of identity/Name building. They were not interested in building a name for God by being image bearers.


Nimrod was their Messiah and they were building him an idolatrous Temple. A War Fortress and armory in order to conquer weaker nations. The Tower of Babel/Temple was a gate that Nimrod can brazenly use to enter into God's presence on his terms. It's possible that Nimrod believed Yahweh was a God of War and wanted to enter his presence whenever to gain victories over his many conquests. In contrast, his grandfather Noah met with God in a small tent in a humble manner. Not in front of a public spectacle like Nimrod. In verse 5, God comes down from Heaven to see the large structure. This is meant to come off as insulting and humorous. To God, this tower was not impressive.


Upon God's inspection, He responds proactively to stop Nimrod and his followers. God confuses them so they would work against each other. This could have involved many disagreements on how the tower was going to be constructed, which ultimately resulted in the project being abandoned and going their separate ways. In the end, we see that the word Babel is translated as Gate of God, but it can also mean confusion. Some of these themes are related in the Book of Haggai. For example, when God's Temple was not a priority for construction. In that case, man was focused on building up their houses with beautiful paneling. Likewise, they were making a name for themselves.


Now, we are introduced to the righteous remnant of Shem who was not involved in the Tower of Babel incident. Remember from Genesis 5, that these ages are based on a special numbering system. So people were not over 100 years old literally. Interestingly, Shem's son Arpachshad was born two years AFTER the flood. Therefore, from the flood to Abram, there is only 292 years, that is not enough time to build a large society. Let alone a continent. That is a mathematical impossiblity. Global flood advocates are grasping for straws. This Genealogy of Shem doesn't include the wicked sons of Joktan. God judged them at Babel. It focuses on Peleg's side. 


One important feature that is different from the Genesis 5's Genealogy of Covenantal Death is that Genesis 11's focus is on Covenantal Life. At age 70, Terah fathers three sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran- just like Noah. There is no clear indication which sons gets the double portion  inheritance. Haran fathered Lot, Milcah, and Iscah- Abram's nephew. Haran dies in front of Terah in Ur of the Chaldeans- retroactively called by this name by the writer. Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah. Milcah and Iscah are believed to be the daughters of Haran. However, the Hebrew word- Bat, for daughter is a very loaded term. It can mean female relative which can include sister, female cousin, aunt, daughter, and/or granddaughter. See 2 Kings 8:26, 2 Chronicles 22:2. We don't know how many wives, concubines, and/or what other relatives lived with Haran. Scholars have believed that Iscah is another name for Sarai. However, this is not true because Milcah's name means queen and Sarai's name means princess. Iscah means to see, observe, and/or watch with pleasure. I believe this word can be linked to Lot's wife. Genesis 19:26, Luke 17:32. 


Sarai is mentioned as having no children. Abram, Lot, and Sarai left Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land  of Canaan. For some reason, they got detoured for awhile in the Land of Haran, which is the name of the deceased son / brother instead of going forward to Canaan. They settled in this land until Terah's death. My best guess is that Terah could not move forward to Canaan because of the grief of losing his son, Haran. By staying in that land, showed that he was stuck in the past. There is no more mention of Nahor, Milcah, and Iscah at this point.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

14 Reasons Why a Spiritual Resurrection in 70 AD Should Be Considered Over a Physical Resurrection

14 Reasons Why a Spiritual Resurrection in 70 AD Should Be Considered Over a Physical Resurrection 1. When did the Old Testament (OT) Saints leave Sheol/Hades to go to Heaven? Surprisingly, many believe that the OT Saints went to Heaven at the Cross. This is not true. In Acts 2, we see that Christ the Greater David was the ONLY person granted a physical resurrection AND ascension. The physical resurrection and ascension of Christ in 30AD pointed as well as confirmed the spiritual resurrection of the OT saints in 70 AD. King David was still in his grave, not Christ. See Acts 2:22-34. When Christ ascended to Heaven in Acts 1:9-11, He ascended ALONE. Later, in Acts 7:60, when Stephen was stoned to death, it says he fell ASLEEP . It says NOTHING about his spirit going up to Heaven with the Lord.  This is especially confirmed if you read Psalm 31 in its full context. Otherwise, you are imposing something foreign into the text. In Matthew 27:51-53, there were a number of dead saints w
Read more

Ezekiel 38-39 has been fulfilled in the book of Esther-Quick Reference

Ezekiel 38-39 has been fulfilled in the book of Esther-Quick Reference ***The Jews’ victory caused 75,310 people (Esther 9:10, 15, 16). This corresponds with the enemy deaths in Ezekiel 38-39. ·          Esther 9:10 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder . ·          Esther 9:15-16 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men , but they did not lay their hands on the plunder . 16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies . They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. ·          Ezekiel 39:11 11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes w
Read more

From Grave to Glory (G2G)-A Preterist Postmillennial Commentary-Revelation 12-22

Image
Revelation 12 V1-2: We see the same imagery of Joseph’s dream here in Genesis 37:9-11. Israel is described as the Daughter of Zion-a dying mother; specifically, Rachel who died tragically during pregnancy. See Isaiah 50:1, 54:1-6, 66:7; Jeremiah 4:31; Micah 4:9-10; Galatians 4:27; Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18. Although Israel will be destroyed, the remnant will represent a glimmer of hope similar to Benjamin and Christ's respective births. The woman clothed with the sun represents the exalted status of Israel among all nations. However, the moon is under her feet, which represents the waning status of the Old Covenant. The moon reflects light from the sun. The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The dying Daughter of Zion was about to give birth to Christ and the Church. V3: The Dragon’s seven heads have crowns at this time, which means the Roman Empire was in control. This represents Satan’s authority over the Roman Empire-Israel alliance. The Seven Heads are the s
Read more